#muralremoval — Public Fediverse posts

BRITON FERRY: Town’s much-loved Brunel mural to be whitewashed within weeks after ownership dispute

A much-loved community mural in Briton Ferry is to be painted over within weeks, after a dispute over permission to put it up.

The artwork, celebrating engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the town’s heritage, fills the entire side of a building at the entrance to the town.

It was the idea of local councillor Gareth Rice, who says he spent around two years planning, saving for and funding the project himself.

In a public statement, Cllr Rice said he had now been told he must whitewash the mural — and described himself as “gutted”.

He said he had believed he held the correct permission, having spoken to the person or people he understood to be the owners of the building, and that he had acted in good faith throughout.

Only after the mural was finished, he said, did another joint owner — whom he says he had not known about — come forward objecting to it and asking for it to be removed.

He said the joint owner has reported both him and the mural to the police as alleged criminal damage.

No further details of any police involvement have been made public, and the position of the joint owner is not known.

Cllr Rice said he had transformed the surrounding area from overgrown wasteland into a landscaped space over the same period, intending it as a welcoming entrance to the town and a fitting setting for the artwork.

Image shared by Cllr Rice of the overgrown area before the mural was paintedImage shared by Cllr Rice of the overgrown area before the mural was painted

The mural was painted by street artist Jenks, whose community murals have appeared across the region, from Llanelli’s seafront to Port Talbot.

Cllr Rice paid tribute to the artist, calling the finished piece “a masterpiece that lifted the whole community”.

He was also keen to stress that the tenants of the building, a local kitchens and bedrooms business, had nothing to do with the dispute and had been supportive throughout.

The timing, he said, had been especially hard. Only the day before he was told the mural must go, he had been with the Friends of Jersey Park as the group received a King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

He said that during the ceremony, the Lord-Lieutenant — the King’s representative in the county — had remarked on how lovely it was to drive into Briton Ferry and see the mural and its nod to the town’s heritage.

A veteran of military service and a former firefighter, Cllr Rice said the situation had affected him more than he expected — not because of the mural itself, but because of what it had come to mean to people.

He said the response from residents had shown how much the community valued public art and colour in the town.

Cllr Rice has invited people to photograph the mural before it is covered, saying he has been instructed it must be gone within a week or two.

He also said he hoped to create similar artwork elsewhere in future — in the right place, and with full permission.

“This isn’t the end,” he said. “If anything, it’s the beginning of something bigger — something we can create together, in the right place, with the right permissions.”

The joint owner of the building, who has not been identified, could not be reached for comment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Briton Ferry volunteers honoured with King’s Award
The Friends of Jersey Park recognised with the UK’s highest award for volunteer groups.

Artist Jenks transforms Llanelli seafront wall
The five-panel community mural the street artist funded himself.

The Briton Ferry coastal path closure
Councillors demand action over a long-closed stretch of the estuary path.

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